Coin-controlled vending machine



D. c. RINEHART I 2,269,164

COIN-CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE Filed May 7, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet l REFRIGERATED CABINET COIN SLOT PULL OUT OPERATING HANDLE COIN BOX Inventor: Dean CPineh rt,

H is Att orney.

Jan. 6,' 1942. D RINEHART 2,269,164-

COIN? CONTROLLED VENDING MACHINE Filed May '7, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor: Dean C. Rlf/hart, y l-i s Att orney Patented Jan. 6, 1942 COIN-.CQNTROLLED VENDING MACHINE Dean 0. Rinehart, Fort Wayne, Ind., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation .of

New York Application May 7, 1940, Serial No. 333,754

-3 Claims.

My invention relates to coin-controlled vending machines and in particular to certain details employed in a coin-controlled .vending machine invented by Edwin J. Lockwood and Leslie A.

Mapes in which a plurality of removable drawers each comprising a complete coin-controlled vending unit are provided in a refrigerator cabinet for the vending of refrigerated products such as milk, ice cream and the like.

The features of my invention which are. believed to be novel and patentable will be pointed out in the claims appendedhereto. For a better understanding of .my invention, reference is made in the following description to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is ,a front perspective view of a refrigerated vending machine involving the invention, having provision for five drawers, the two lower ones of which have been removed to afford an interior view of the cabinet; Fig. 2 is a more detailed view of a drawer front showing, in dotted lines, a device for preventing insertion of coins when the drawer is empty; Fig. 3 is a partial section plan view of a drawer front and part of the conveyor system opposite the delivery door therein and .a lock for the conveyor which is actuated when the delivery door is opened; Fig. 4 is a perspectiveview of the interior of a drawer as seen from the upper rear to show the conveyor and a portion ofits operating mechanism. In this view most of the package holders have been removed from the conveyor chain for better illustration purposes; and Figs. 5 and 6 show partial plan and side views of the coin-release mechanism and its relation to the conveyor operating mechanism Referring now to Fig. 1, it is seen that there is provided a cabinet .lfl which, except for the drawer arrangement, is much like that of a domestic refrigerator. be kept cool with ice, it is preferred to make use of the more modern automatic refrigerating system and hence the cabinet is arranged with a lower compartment at H for housing a suitable refrigerator condensing unit which may consist of an electric motor, a condenser, liquid receiver and compressor. An evaporator compartment I2 is provided at the top of the cabinet. Since the details of the refrigerating system to be used are not features of my invention, this brief reference thereto will suflice. The cabinet has walls of heat-insulating material and since the front of the various drawers therein form a part of the front wall of the cabinet, they will be formed with spaced walls, between which is contained a heatinsulating material as indicated at [3 in Fig. 3.

While such a cabinet may The cabinet represented in Fig. l is arranged to contain five drawers, the upper two of which are shown closed, the middle drawer is partially removed,and the two lower drawers are removed entirely. The arrangement adapts itself to cabinets with i a greater or lesser number of drawers than is here represented and the vertical depth of the different drawers may vary to suit the bottles, packages or other articles which they are designed to .contain. The different drawers are supported on suitable metal side guiding and supporting rods such as represented at ,l 4 so that they may be pulled out and removed if desired in the usual way. The drawers should be well-fitted so that when closed, good refriger ation may be maintained within the cabinet. A soft rubber gasket such as indicated at 9, Fig. 3 is used to seal the drawers when closed. Each drawer is provided with a lock in order that it may be opened only byan authorized person having a key which fits into the key holes seen at 15. This lock is arranged to operatea locking bar l1 seen in Fig. 4. Thebar I1 is shown in the locked position and when in this position it is raised behind a cross bar 18 seen in Fig. 1 which is permanently secured in the cabinet. To unlock a drawer the key is inserted in the key hole and turned tothe right. This turns the stud I 6 and link I9 to which the locking bar I1 is pivotally supported so that the locking bar is lowered to the unlocked position indicated in dotted lines inFig. 4 in which position it is beneath and can clear the cross bar |8, Fig. 1 so that the drawer may be removed. The bar l8 seen in Fig. 1 is the fixed cross bar used for liockingthe bottom drawer. The exposed surfaces and parts contained in each drawer are made of non-corrodible material such as aluminum, brass, or galvanized metal so that adrawer may be removedand inserted in a steam bath for sterilizing purposes as required. When a drawer becomes empty, it is generally removed andreplaced by a cleanland filled drawer. The empty drawer is sterilized, examinedtosee thatit is in-good working order, and refilled as and-when required to replace an empty drawer. All drawers of, the same sizeare interchangeablein the same or different cabinets.

As seen in Fig. 1, the front of each drawer is also provided with a small delivery door. 2'0, a lever 2| for operating the conveyor system, a coin slot 22 and a coin return pocket 23. The drawers will be suitably labeled as represented in Fig. .1

to designate their contents so that .a purchaser may make the desired selection by depositing his coin in the properdrawer coin slot. Simple 111-.

structions as to the coin to be used and manner of operation to make a purchase will likewise be provided. In Fig. l the second drawer from the top has its delivery door open and a package 24 containing chocolate ice cream is ready for delivery to the customer.

The apparatus for thus dispensing packages and the manner of its operation will now be described. Each drawer contains and supports a conveyor system best shown in Fig. 4. This systern comprises an endless chain 25 running over grooved pulleys 26, 21, 28, 29 and 30. The various pulleys are rotatively mounted on stub shafts rising from the metal fioor 3| of each drawer. The floor structure is suitably braced and is of skeleton construction so as to permit free circulation of cold air throughout the refrigerated portion of the cabinet. The edges at the openings in the drawer floor are preferably turned up to minimize dripping from one drawer to a lower drawer. The chain links have studs 32 which extend downward and may be partially supported on the solid part of the floor, and when the chain is moved, these studs where they touch the floor, slide thereon. In the form shown in Fig. 4 every other chain stud has fastened to its top by a rivet or a screw, a holder 33. In Fig. 4 most of these holders have been removed to more clearly show the conveyor system. These holders are shaped to hold packages or bottles or whatever other article is to be dispensed. In Fig. 3 the holders are shaped to hold square cartons for containing ice cream. In such a case, the holder is'non-rotatably fastened to its supporting stud and the stud is non-rotatably secured to one of the chain links through which it passes, so as to keep the holder properly oriented with respect to the chain such that the package holders will not turn into positions where they will bind against each other in moving about a pulley and so that when opposite the delivery door they will be in such position as to best facilitate the removal of the package. Additional guide rails 34 may be positioned to contact the upper portion of the packages to be contained in the holders to assist in guiding the loaded conveyor system to the end that no package will becom misplaced and jam or otherwise interfere with the proper operation of such system. It will be noted that the holders 33 are so positioned on the chain that when opposite the delivery door they have their full open side on the outside or facing such door.

Opposite the delivery door the chain passes between the front wall of the drawer and a shield 35 which discourages a person from attempting to reach through the delivery door to remove a package from the central loop of the conveyor system where it passes about pulley 30. shield 35 also prevents misplacement of and unauthorized access to packages approaching the delivery door, by a person attempting by atool or otherwise to reach a package other than the one in delivery position directly opposite the delivery door, as represented by the package 24 seenin Fig. 1. The shield 35 also cuts down the loss of cold air when the delivery door is open.

The conveyor system is arranged to be advanced in the direction indicated in steps so as to successively position each holder directly opposite the delivery door upon the deposit of coins of the proper denomination and the pulling out on handle 2|. One coin and one advancing op eration advances the conveyor system one step equal to the spacing of the holders thereon or The two chain links. The conveyor advancing mechanism is shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. The handle 2| in front of the drawer is secured to the forward end of a rod 36 arranged to slide lengthwise in suitable guides 31 and extending horizontally to almost the rear of the drawer when in its in position shown. Fixed to rod 36 within the drawer is a plate 39. Plate 39 extends horizontally from rod 36 towards the near side of the drawer just above the floor of the drawer.

' It has pivoted to it a hook 40 biased by a spring shown near its pivot to hook over the upper ends of the chain studs or pins 32 just above the chain links. The free end of the hook or nose is so shaped that when rod 36 and slide plate 39 is moving inward or to the rear of the drawer, the hook 46 will be moved away from the chain by engagement of the pointed nose of the hook with the chain studs and hence it slips by the chain studs without moving the chain. This rearward movement of the advancing pull rod is accomplished by a spring 4| fastened between the rear end of plate 39 and the rear wall of the drawer, after the rod 36 has been pulled out and released. The pulling out of rod 36 causes the hook 40 to engage a chain lug and advance the chain and conveyor system. This also tensions spring 4| so that the rod 36 will be returned inward as soon as handle 2| is released. Backward or reverse movement of the conveyor system is prevented by a pawl 42 shown at the rear of the drawer in Fig. 4. Pawl 42 is urged towards the chain by a light spring and the pawl engages behind the chain lugs as they are advanced past this pawl, and it prevents any reverse movement of the conveyor system.

In order to prevent too great an advance of the conveyor system due to overshooting when the pull rod 36 is pulled out more or less vigorously, a stop pawl 43 is provided. This stop pawl is pivoted at 44 near the rear right hand corner of the drawer and has a hook end extending forward with the hook side urged toward the chain lugs by a light spring seen near the pivot of the stop pawl. It will be noted that the hook surface 45 of this stop pawl is so shaped that unless this pawl is held firmly in stopping position against the chain lug as shown in Fig. 5 the stop pawl 43 will be shoved aside to allow the lug to move past. This is necessary to allow the chain to advance when that is intended. However, near the end of each advancing movement of bar 36 a pin extending upward from near the rear end of bar 36 moves against the rear surface of stop pawl 43 opposite the stop projection thereon and holds the stop pawl in the stopping position shown'in Fig. 5. The chain is thus brought to a stop in an exact position and cannot overtravel due to inertia. This stopping position is such as to bring a holder 33 directly in opposite the delivery door 20. It will be evident from Fig. 5 that if the rod 36 is pulled forward to advance the chain two links, the chain lug in contact with stop pawl 43 will shove this pawl aside to allow the chain to advance. Also, the next chain lug will do the same as pin 46 will not yet have moved forward enough to hold pawl 43 in stopping position. However, when the next following chain lug comes opposite stop pawl 43, pin 46 will be in position to prevent the shoving aside of the stop pawl and hence the conveyor system will be brought to a stop as the rod 36 reaches its pull out position. Stopping of the conveyor system after an advance of the chain the distance of twoof its links obviously also stops the advance of the pull out rod36;

In order to assure that the rod 36 will be pulled out its full stroke and that the chain will be advanced its full step distance when it is advanced, there is provided means forpreventing a return of the sliding rod 36 and plate 39 to the rear until its full forward stroke has been completed. This means comprises a toothed rack 47 secured to plate 39 adjacent the drawer wall and a pawl 48 pivoted to the inner side wall of the drawer cooperating with the rack. The pawl is pivoted at 49, see Fig. 6, and is normally urged to the position there shown by a tension spring 59. When the rod 36 with rack 41 is pulled forward, pawl 48 will be engaged by the teeth in the rack'and the pawl will be turned in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 6 to act as a stop pawl to reverse the rearward movement of the rack until it clears the last tooth at the rear of the rack. The pawl 48 may then again assume the vertical position shown. This requires that the advancing mechanism be pulled out its complete stroke before it can be returned. Likewise the mechanism is being returned as the pawl 48 engages the teeth in the rack and the pawl is turned counter-clockwise to prevent any forward movement of the rack until it has completed its return or rearward movement. This device thus mechanism may be provided with standard parts 'for ejecting slugs, small coins, etc. Its primary purpose so far as concerns my invention is to serve as a coin-controlled lock for the conveyor advancing mechanism to permit one complete operation of such mechanism, only when the proper coin is deposited. This feature is shown in Fig. 6. When a proper coin is deposited in the coin slot 22, Fig. 1, it finds its Way down a coin chute 52, Fig.6, to the position of the coin 53. Here it is blocked by a part 54 pivoted at 55 to a locking lever 56. A spring 51 urges part 54 into the coin chute from one side to block further passage of the coin downward. The lever 56 extends out of the rear side of the coin box and has a rounded tail part 51' which normally rests against the floor of the drawer adjacent a wedge-shaped piece 58 secured to,,or apart of, plate 39. When attempt is made to pull out rod 36 and the parts attached thereto to advance the conveyor, part 58 moves beneath the rounded end 51' of lever 56 and attempts to raise the same. If lever 56 is permitted to rise to the extent required for it to ride on the upper fiat surface of part 56, the conveyor system can be advanced, otherwise lever 56 blocks such operation. It is only when a coin is in the position of coin 53 that lever 55 is permitted to rise to a non-locking position. Lever 56 is pivoted and rotates about a pivot 59. Near its upper left end as seen in Fig. 6 it is pivoted to a lever 60 which swings about a stationary pivot at 6|. Lever 60 has an offset finger 62 which extends far enough into the coin chute to contact coin 53 when the finger is lowered. Lever 60 also has an offset finger 63 which when lowered from the position shown, may engage a shoulder 64 on the coin blocking part 54. The arrangement is such that if there is a coin 53 in the position shown and attempt is made to advance the conveyor, lever ill 56 or its end51' will rise and it will lower lever 60 until finger 62 thereon contacts the upper edge of coin 53 and. then forces the'coin downward, moving part 54 counter-clockwise about its pivot 55 to permit the coin to'pass the obstruction and drop downinto the coin chute 65. This movement of part 54 carries the shoulder 64 thereon to the right and out of the path'of finger 63 which also moves downward with lever 60, sov that parts 63 and 64 do not catch and lock the operation justdesc'ribed. Hence lever '56 is permitted to rise and ride on the top flat surface of part 53 as the conveyor is advanced. However, if there is no coin in the position shown, lever 56 will only be permitted to rise a short distance until finger 63 engages shoulder 64 and locks the parts against further movement in this direction. In Y such a case the rod 36 can only be pulled out a very short distance and not enough to advance the conveyor. It is thus seen that unless there is a coin 53 in the position shown, the conveyor advancing mechanism is locked andit can only be unlocked by the deposit of a coin. 7 After the coin controlled lock has been released by a coin and the conveyor operated, the coin used Jpa'ss'es downward and when the slide plate 39 is returned to retracted position, lever 56 again drops to the position shown and finger 63 rides upwardover latch 64 without difilculty to 'againassume .the condition of the parts shown in Fig. ,6 with: the exception that no coin '53 is present. Another coin must'be deposited before another conveyor advancing operation. The cointhusu'sed is deflected sideways'in dropping and'passes into a common coin chute 65 fixed to the cabinet and having valve shaped side openings positioned to receive the coins from all of the difierent drawers. This common'coin chute empties into a small coin drawer 66 shown slightly open in Fig. 1. This coin box is provided with lockand key so as to be accessible only to authorized persons.

It is now seen that a person desiring .a' carton of ice cream 'or other product, deposits 2. coin in the drawer containing the product selected,

pulls the handle 2| out as far as it will go, and

then opens the delivery door 20'and takes out his purchase. The handle 2|. is drawn in automatically by spring 4|. The delivery door is provided with a handle 68 and with spring hinges 69 and it will reclose automatically as soon as released. In Fig. 2, a carton '61 is shown in delivery position. I

Meansare also provided to lock the advance of the conveyors when the delivery doors are a open. This is to prevent a person from advancing the'conveyor through-the delivery door and thus obtaining packages Without payment therefor} This locking device is'shown in Fig. 3. Near the bottom of the delivery door there is a lever 10 extending to the rear and behind the lower hinge. At its end it has a downward extending cam pin 1| which, when the door is opened, pushes to the rear on a cam follower lever 12; The cam lever is located beneath the door sill out of the way and out of sight. It is pivoted at 13 and is urged against pin 10 by a spring 14. At its free end this cam lever is coupled to a lock bolt 15 which is arranged to slide to the rear when the delivery door is opened and in so doing to pass between two of the chain lugs of the conveyor chain, and thus prevent its movement in either direction when the delivery door is open. When the delivery door is closed, spring 14 returns the lever 12 and bolt 15 to the unlocking positions.

Another feature which'is desirable is to provide means for preventing the deposit of a coin in a drawer from which the product to be Vended has been depleted. Such means is represented in Fig. 2. Here a lever arm I6 pivoted at 11 has an off-set part 18 which rests lightly and rides on the upper surfaces of bottles, cartons or packages which may be contained on the conveyor system as they pass the position approaching and next adjacent the delivery door 20. Hence, if the holder in this position is empty, the leverarm 16 drops down. The lever has an ofiset arm 19 extending adjacent the coin slot 22, and when the lever arm 16 drops down, the end of arm 19 moves across and blocks the coin slot so that no coin may be inserted. In this way customers will not deposit coins in empty drawers.

The herein described features of providing the pawl 43 for preventing over-travel of the conveyor system when it is advanced, the pawl 42 for preventing backward movement of the conveyor, the means for locking the conveyor system when the delivery door is open, the lever parts 16 and 19 for blocking the coin slot when the drawer becomes empty, and the particular form of conveyor advancing mechanism and coin unlocking means constitute my invention.

It will be evident that when a drawer is opened or removed from the cabinet, the conveyor system may be readily advanced by pulling on the chain or turning the center pulley without operation of the pull rod 36. Hence the conveyor system may be quickly reserviced by placing full packages and the like on the various carriers. It is, of course, possible for a purchaser to return the empty carton or bottle to the conveyor from the holder from which it was removed through the delivery door. However, in many cases this will be undesirable for sanitary reasons.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a coin-controlled vending machine, a horizontally disposed compartment for containing articles to be vended, a delivery door in said compartment, a conveyor for conveying articles in said compartment to said delivery door, said conveyor comprising an endless horizontally disposed chain formed by links connected by studs extending below said chain to rest in sliding contact on the floor of said compartment and also extending above said chain, article holders fastened on every other upwardly extending stud, such article holder being non-rotatably secured to one of the connecting chain links by such studs so as to maintain the article holders oriented in a desired position with respect to the chain axis while allowing the chain to move in a curved path, grooved pulleys rotatively supported from the floor of said compartment over which said chain runs and which determine the path of movement of such chain and coin-controlled means for advancing said chain in steps equal to the spacing of the holders thereon.

2. In a coin-controlled vending machine a horizontally disposed compartment for containing articles to be vended, an endless horizontally disposed chain conveyor therein, formed by links secured together by lugs extending above and below said chain, article holders fastened on equally spaced upwardly extending chain lugs, grooved pulleys rotatively supported from the floor of said compartment for guiding the movement of said chain, the downward extending chain lugs coming in sliding contact with the compartment floor to assist in supporting said chain, and means for advancing said chain in steps the distance of the spacing of the holders thereon, comprising a rod extending from within to without said compartment adjacent a straight portion of said chain, a hook on said rod in said compartment positioned to engage with upwardly extending lugs on said chain, a handle on said rod external to said compartment for pulling outwardly on said rod to advance the chain, a spring for returning said rod inwardly, means for preventing reverse movements of said rod at an intermediate point in its range of travel while being normally operated in either direction, and means for engaging both a projection on said rod and a lug of said chain to limit a chain-advancing movement to the holder spacing.

3. In a vending machine, an article conveyor comprising an endless chain with article-supporting holders equally spaced along said chain and means for advancing said chain in steps equal to the spacing of such holders comprising a rod slidable in the direction of its length and extending adjacent to a straight portion of said chain, lugs on said chain and a hook on said rod positioned to engage a lug on said chain to advance the chain when the rod is moved in one direction and to slide over such lugs without moving the chain when the rod is moved in the opposite direction, said rod having a range of movement such as to advance the chain the distance of the holder spacing for each such operation, manual means for moving said rod in a chain-advancing direction, a spring for returning said rod in the opposite direction, means for preventing over-travel of said chain when thus advanced, means for preventing reverse movement of said chain and means for requiring a full stroke movement of said rod in either direction before permitting a reverse movement.

DEAN C. RINEHART. 

